IFA 2013 | Galaxy Gear smartwatch comes with 1.9MP camera, retails for $299

Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch has been coming for quite a while now, and it has finally made its debut at the IFA tradeshow in Berlin. The watch resembles the prototype that found its way online over the past few days, but it does have a more polished feel to it.

Coming in at 1.63" and featuring an AMOLED display with a 320x320 pixel resolution, the Gear packs a single-core 800MHz Exynos processor to go along with 4GB of onboard storage and 512MB of RAM. Also included are a pair of speakers, a 1.9MP camera and a memographer app, which work together to take quick video memos. The watch will also be available in 6 different strap colors, Jet Black, Mocha Gray, Wild Orange, Oatmeal Beige, Rose Gold and Lime Green.

The device connects via Low Energy Bluetooth 4.0, a feature that is currently only found on Android 4.3 devices. The Gear also won't play nice with anything but a Samsung smartphone, meaning that the Note 3 and the new Note 10.1 are the only devices currently supported until the rest of the lineup receives Android 4.3.

As for applications, Samsung already has over 70 apps that can be sideloaded through the Galaxy Gear manager, though only 10 can be installed on the device at once. Sadly, the interface doesn't appear to be as snappy as one might hope, and the battery only lasts one day with regular use, making it a hindrance when compared to normal watches.

Although the Galaxy Gear is still a first-generation product, it does have a few hurdles to pass, including a lack of device compatibility, relatively short battery life and poor camera quality. Nonetheless, the watch provides a glimpse of what the future has in store, and we'll have to see how the public respond when it retails on September 25th for $299.